The Ballad of Del
by rockandrosie
Summary: Delphini Black is starting her first year at Hogwarts, where she meets friends and foes alike. What kind of trouble could she get into?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all. Words of warning... this story was written a long time ago, I just wanted to publish it now. Enjoy c:**

Delphini stood in Diagon Alley looking around her with a smile. Sure, she had been there before, but today was special... today she was shopping for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Technically speaking, she was a pure-blood, but she didn't like to flaunt it. To her, it just didn't matter. She pulled out her shopping list and turned towards her adoptive parents, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. She usually just called them their nicknames, Moony and Tonks. "Can we get my books first?" she asked excitedly. Moony was her godfather a she was somehow related to Tonks. The whole Black family tree really confused her. Her father, Sirius, had been burned off the tree and she had never been added. She never knew her father because he died when she was really young, but she had known Tonks and Moony for as long as she could remember.

Tonks laughed at her request to get books, "You are so like Moony. Books are boring. But, this is your day, we'll get whatever you want first." Delphini, or Del as she went by, smiled.

"Okay!" She said, "books it is. But Gringotts first, I need to get some money." The lot headed towards Gringotts. The tall, white building stood front and center. The whole place felt intimidating and goblins really creeped Del out. It made sense to Del that the only person who had ever robbed Gringotts successfully was her other godfather, Harry. He was the bravest person she had ever met, and Del was sure he could do anything he set his mind to.

Upon entering through the bronze doors, Del pulled out the key to the Black vault. Being the last living Black, the entire fortune belonged to her. She, of course, shared her money with her adoptive family seeing as they weren't that well off. The inside of Gringotts was buzzing with excitement. It seemed a lot of Hogwarts students were buying their school supplies. They stepped up to an available desk and Del greeted the goblin sitting at said desk. "Hello, I'm here to get into vault 711." she held out her vault key. The goblin, Twarpfeather, led them to a cart that would take them down to her vault. Tonks stayed behind because she was 7 months pregnant with her second child. Teddy Lupin was her first son. The 3 year old was at their home with Harry, who was babysitting for them.

The ride down underneath London was very bumpy. Del gripped the sides of the cart so she wouldn't fall out. Soon enough they arrived at vault 711. Del climbed out of the cart, slightly nauseated, and straightened her bright purple robes. The goblin opened her vault and Del filled a small, dragon hide pouch with a few handfuls of galleons. She pulled out a few sickles and put them in her pocket so she could buy some ice cream when they were done shopping.

…...

Soon enough, the trio was headed towards Flourish and Blotts to buy her textbooks. When they entered the small, worn down shop, Del headed straight towards the textbooks. Consulting her list, she got A History of Magic, A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Magical Drafts and Potions, Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection, Magical Theory, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1. She had her arms full of books already but she decided to grab Curses and Counter-Curses just in case she wanted to duel someone. Satisfied with her items, she brought them to the counter to get checked out.

The witch adding up the total for her books smiled down at Del and said, "First year, eh? I remember my first year at Hogwarts. What house do ya reckon you'll be in? That'll be 13 galleons dear."

Del counted out 13 while saying, " Really don't know. My father and godfathers were all in Gryffindor but most everyone in my family was in Slytherin. I'd be happy with any house, really. Here you go." she handed the lady the money and headed out with Tonks and Remus holding her bag of books. "Let's get my cauldron next, does it have to be pewter? I'd rather get brass, they brew so much faster."

As they entered Potage's Caldron Shop, Moony being practical as ever said, "If your caldron brews faster than the class', you won't finish at the same time as everyone else. It has to be pewter." sighing dramatically, Del purchased a pewter cauldron.

Eventually, Del had purchased everything on the list except for her wand, and the black cat she was planning on bringing with her. She turned to Moony and Tonks excitedly. "This is the best part. My own wand!" she exclaimed. They made their way to the south side of Diagon Alley and entered Ollivanders. His grandson had taken over the business a few years prior.

The inside of the shop was dimly lit by various candles. The thick curtains on the windows kept the light from outside out. The air was foggy with incense smoke. Del felt right at home in Ollivanders. She inhaled deeply with a smile and rang the bell on the front desk. A young man became visible around box after box of wands. "Ah! A first year!" he exclaimed. "Let's see here. Black hair, green eyes, tan, quite short... I think I've got just the wand for you!" the eccentric man pulled out a wand and handed it to her. "11 inches, applewood, veela hair core, brittle.. no, no that's not the one. How about this 9 inches, spruce, phoenix feather, flexible... no, no, no." the man was mostly talking to himself. Del found him very odd. He handed her several more wands and then, "Here we are, 10 inches, ebony, unicorn hair, supple..." the man put a wand in her hand and immediately her whole arm felt more alive than ever. The wand produced a few sparks. "Oh, yes that's it. Ebony dear? You must be a very proud young woman. This wand will do just fine with you. There's nothing I love more than finding a wizard for every wand. That'll be 12 galleons, dear. Would you like a dragon hide wrist holster for another 5 galleons?"

Del pulled out 17 galleons and said, "Yes please, that would be nice." she payed the man and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." he told her his name was Anthony with a smile, "Thank you so much Anthony, I love this wand. We'll be the best of friends. Have a good day." Del gently placed her wand in her cauldron with a smile and turned towards Tonks. She gave her a big hug and then Moony. "I'm so excited!" she said with the biggest smile she could muster. "Let's get ice cream!"

Del got raspberry with peanut butter on a cone, and Moony and Tonks got a cup of chocolate to share. They headed out of Diagon Alley with their ice cream. They took the Leaky Cauldron exit. Del was confused, "Why don't we just floo home?" she asked while eating her ice cream.

Tonks smiled at Del, that day she was wearing her hair purple and her pale skin was freckled. "Well, Remus and I got you a couple presents at a muggle store. Since you'll be leaving for Hogwarts soon, we wanted to get you something to remember us by. When you get lonely your presents will keep you company. Del was excited, as any 11 year old would be when told they're getting not one, but two presents.

"Okay then." she said. The three of them headed down the road on the muggle street they were on. Tonks and Mooney were wearing muggle clothes as they usually did, but Del's purple robes and green embroidered flats were getting some odd looks. Del just preferred to dress like a witch. The first store they entered was a toy store. Del was a little confused since she didn't play with toys. The couple walked to the front desk and told them they had reserved something under the name "Lupin". The man at the front desk handed them a gray stuffed wolf that Remus payed for with muggle money.

Del laughed. "A wolf? Really? Thanks, I love it."

"One more to remember me by." she said. Next door to the toy store was a jewelry store. Tonks payed for something that was in a blue velvet box. The trio exited the shop and Tonks handed Del the box. Inside was a necklace with three stars hanging from it. "One star for me, one for your father, and one for you." Tonks explained.

Del had tears in her eyes looking at it. Her adoptive mother put it on her and Del felt so much love for the two that she said, "You guys are the best parents I could ever ask for. Thank you so much."

"Even though we don't want you calling us Mom and Dad, you will always be our daughter." Remus said. When she was young she was always told to call them Remus or Moony and Tonks instead of Mom and Dad. She was told that the reason was the two of them could never replace her real parents and Moony and Tonks wanted her father, Sirius, and her mother Juliet to always be remembered as Mom and Dad.

Del smiled and said, "Thanks. C'mon, let's go home. I've had enough excitement for one day and I'm about ready to pass out."


	2. Chapter 2

It was August 29th, Del's birthday. She didn't have any friends to spend it with, but she was getting a cat to take with her to Hogwarts. She had an idea of the cat she wanted, black with yellow eyes. Del had wanted a cat for quite some time but had decided to wait until her first year at Hogwarts to get one. On her birthday Del woke up at 6am, she always was quite the early bird. Waking up before everyone else had it's advantages. Del got to have a long morning routine, her favorite part of the day.

Del's morning routine was elaborate, but it helped her get a good start on her day. Starting her routine, she would fill her bathtub with warm water, lavender oil, and rose bath salts before lighting her favorite sandalwood incense. She would simply relax for awhile, because she didn't wash her hair very often as it would get frizzy if she did. She then proceeded to brush her teeth, wash her face, and clean up her room.

When she was done, everyone was usually just waking up. Del headed toward Teddy's room a few minutes later. The raven haired girl poked her head in his room to find that he was awake. She then proceeded to tickle his tummy. The 3 year old squirmed and giggled until she stopped. "Hey, bud." she greeted him.

His turquoise eyes looked up at her with joy. "Dolphin!" he exclaimed before turning his pink hair black and curly and his eyes gray. "Imma miss you sis." he said, looking like Del's blood brother.

"I know, Teddy Bear. I'll miss you too. C'mon we're getting a cat today!" The two of them crept out of his room. They soon stood outside Teddy's parents' room. "Go wake up your parents." she stage whispered, "Jump on their bed!" Teddy ran into the room, trying to stifle his giggles before he climbed on their bed and started bouncing up and down.

"Mommy! Daddy!" he exclaimed, "Geddup geddup!"

Remus woke up quickly and grabbed his son to stop his jumping. "Don't step on your mom." he told him, being the worry wart he was.

Tonks sat up and rubbed her eyes, stomach sticking out. "Morning." she mumbled. When she saw her son resembling Del, she changed her appearance to match.

"Now that's just not fair." Remus joked.

* * *

The small group left their house an hour later and got into Remus' car. A few miles down the road stood an animal shelter where Del would get her cat. The building was definitely not impressive, but Del was positive her new best friend was in there.

When Del informed an adoption counselor that she wanted a black cat, the employee led the small family into a room with lots of toys and plush chairs that had 3 black cats in it. Del saw the exact cat she wanted, but when she approached him, he hissed at her and stalked away. She sighed gently, maybe he wasn't the one. She walked toward the second one, but he ran away fearfully.

Del was starting to worry that she wasn't a cat person until she felt soft fur rubbing against her bare leg. She knelt down and saw a black cat with only one eye that was bright green. She held out her hand and the kitten rubbed it's head against it. The black haired girl then scratched him behind the ears and the cat purred contently. She turned to Remus with a huge smile on her face. "This one!"

About an hour, some paperwork, and 50 dollars later, Del was holding a carrying case with her kitten, Padfoot in it. Del and Teddy sat in the back seat of the car wit Padfoot in between them. Teddy was instantly in love with him, sticking his fingers between the cage bars and dubbing him "kitty"

* * *

On September 1st, Del was performing her morning routine for the last time until Christmas. Padfoot had taken to following her everywhere, so it made sense that he was perched on the toilet while she bathed and washed her hair.

Del had her last family breakfast in quite awhile with a bit of melancholy. Feeling her kitten sitting on her feet under the table brought her some comfort. She had tokens to remember her family by. Teddy even drew her a picture of them holding hands, that she framed as soon as she received.

* * *

Del ran through platform 9 and 3/4 first, mindful of her cat, quickly followed by Remus and Tonks holding Teddy's hand. There was still 10 minutes before the train left for the family to say their goodbyes.

"Moony. Tonks. I'm gonna miss you. You too, Teddy Bear." Del whispered.

"Will you be okay?" Tonks asked, calmly.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Del, don't forget that Hufflepuffs are cool too." Tonks comforted, patting Del's head. A few more hugs and "I love you's" were exchanged before Del headed on to the train, with one last look at her adoptive family.

"Bye! I'll see you soon." she said, as words of parting.


End file.
